BENJAMIN DISRAELI AND SUCCESS.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 104, 9 October 1878, Page 2

BENJAMIN DISRAELI AND SUCCESS.

[BT-MACMJtnfMN.3 I was highly pleased with the leading: article m the Times of a recent date- upon' the present Premier of England ; but although I endorse many of .the views therein expressed, there were other* to which X must take exception. To my mind a mora fitting example of t* _> saying that "nothing succeeds like success "could not have beoa selected than the noble earl. who now, hold* the'helm of England's ship of state j but m asserting that his career should act as an example and incentive- to the ambitious aspirant for fame, I affirm that the writermade a grave mistake. 'Ti» true Ldrd Beaeonsfield has attained a pinnacle of political fame far beyond any of his predeces--80is; 'tis true that when England's'Lhistory of the i Nineteenth Cfentury ■hall bewritten, his figure will occupy a foremost place, and his name be emblazoned m letter* of gold upon its pages. But. what of that P He has made his name notorious— famous, if you will— but by what means has h^ reached his pedestal of greatness, or ii theniche which he is destined to fill m tho Temple of Fame an honourable one ? 'Tia true his name will be handed down tofuture generations, but should the attaining of such an object -alone, act as a spur to deeds of questionable greatness. Afctila, who was surnamed " the ' Scourge of God/* lived nearly fifteen hundred years ago, but the memory of liis deeds is still fresh m tho minds of the readers of history, and will it be urged that because of that, his atrociousacts are worthy of example. The First Napoleon has earned a name that will never die, but his greatness ~ : WM/Lpuc!cbas«_ by the life-blood of', almost millions of ; friends and foes alike. Napoleon the' Third was at one time, considered .the foremost man m Europe, but his throne was raised upon a weak foundation, and m bis first step toward the Imperial Purple he had to wade through the blood of French citizens. Bismarck,: "the man of blood :and" iron,'* was. the next star which shone m the political firmanent, but his path; to powtr waft over the necks of his fcountrymon ,i" winsciences were violated, altars, desecrated, the religious rights of a people, ignored-— and what has; been the result r Why the very class— ; the Socialistß-4for whom he outrage (I the feelings ot an unoffending people, seek to take his Ufa ; her has faUen from h» high estate, and skulks about m dread of . the bullet of the assassin." At the present time, doabfcles9,' the man who pre-eminently stands forth m the eyes of aU Europe, ia Benjamin Disraeli, Lom/Beaconsfield i but. by what steps hw he secured his present proud position ? Did he "at the'outset*df his career take up a noble resolve and follow it unflinchingly through the long years of his political life ? Can his actions bear th» light of criticism thrown upon fchem, or will tbey cany with them the conviction of. consistency? I think not, and an analyei* of the means by whioh he has secured place, power, and prestige, will, I imagine, have considerable weight m dispelling the glamor which his very name exercises over the English-speaking race, and strip him of much of the laurels wherewith Ms browa A are now bound. Shades of that immortal Tribune of the people, Daniel O'ConneuV what a. change half a century of time has wrought! Little did the Liberator dreami when he delivered his grand Phillippic m the House of Commons, against. Benjamin Disraeli, that the object of his denunciations would not only survive his attack, but. become the Prime ,Minisfcer of the Empire, and attended with circumstances which, added still greater glory to the- nania. of Englishman. Some short time since, m looking over my scrap-book, I came across a copy of the speech of O'Cohnell against Disraeli, and both on account of its being: a master-piece of eloquent invective, and also became of its appropriateness at th* present time, I have extracted a short portion. ■ Dunns: the contest for Taunton, Mr Disraeli had spoken disrespectfully 'of O'Connell, and stigmatised him as a " traitor, ahd this is how the taunt was answered I .' — "What is ; my acquaintance with -this man ? Juat this:: In I*3l the borough of Wickhatn become Vacant; X thenkuew ..him, but not pw3dnally. I knew him a* tlvs author of one or jwj npf^U. IfogotL

an introduction to me, and wrote me a letter stating that as I was a Radical Reformer, and as he was also a Radical, and was going to stand upon the Radical interest for the borough of Wickham, -where he said there were many persons of that way of thinking who would be influenced by my opinion, be would feel obliged by receiving a letter from me recommendatory of him as a Radical. His letter to me was so distinct upon the subject that I immediately complied with the request, and composed as good an epistle as I could on his behalf. I am m the habit of letter-writing, Sir, and Mr Disraeli thought this, letter so valuable that he not only took the autograph, but had it printed and placarded. It was, m fact, tbe only ground upon which he canvassed the borough. He was, however,- defeated, but that was not my fault, I did ■•not. demand any gratitude from him j but I think if he had any feelings of His own he would conceive I had done him at least a Civility, if not a service, which ought not to be repaid by atrocity of the foulest description. The next thing I heard of him •was that-he started upon the Radical m? terest for Mwrylebone, but -was again 'defeated. Having been twice defeated on the Radical interest, he was just the fellow for the Conservatives, and accordingly he joined a Conservative Club, aud started for two or three places on the Conservative's interest. How is he now engaged? Why, m abusing the Radicals and eulogising the King and the Church, like a true Conservative.At Taunton this miscreant had the audacity to style me an incendiary. Why, I was a. greater incendiary m 1831 than I am at present, if ever I was one— and if I am, he Is doubly so for having employed me. Then' he calls me traitor. My .answer to that is— he is a liar. He is a liar m action and.in words. Hia i life -is a living lie. He is a disgrace to .the species. What state of •ociet^inust that be that could tolerate such a creature j having the audacity to come forward with one set of principles at one lime, and obtain political assistance by reason of those principles— -and at another, to profess diametrically the reverse ?L His life, I say again, is a living lie. He is the most degraded of his species and kind ; and England is degraded m tolerating, , .or having upon the face of her society, a miscreant of his abominable, foul and atrocious nature. My language is harsh, and I owe an apology for^itj bat I will tell ybu why I owe that apology. It is for '" this A reason ; that if j there be harsher terms m the British lan-! guagel should use them'; because it is thel hardest bf all terms that would be descrip- 1 tiveof awretehbf bis species* He is just the fellow for the Conservative Club, r suppose, if Sir Robert Peel had been out of the way when he was called upon to take office, this fellow would have undertaken to supply bis place. He had falsehood enough, depravity enough, and selfishness enough to become the fitting leader of the Conservatives. He is Conservatism personified. His name' shows he is by descent a Jew. His father becomes a convert. He is the better for that m this world ; and I hope r of course, he will be the better for it m the next. I have the happiness to be acquainted with some Jewish families m London, and amongst them more accomplished ladies, or humane, cordial, high-minded or better | educated gentlemen, I have never met. It ! will not be supposed, therefore, that when I speak of Disraeli as. the descendant of a | Jew that . l mean to tarnish him qri that ac- , count. They were once the chosen people of God. There were miscreants amongst them, however, also, and it must have certainly been from one Of those^tbat Disraeli descended.. He possesses just the qualities of the impenitent thief who died upon Ihe cross ; whose name I verily believe musthave been Disraeli. For ought I know the present Disraeli .is descended from him, and with the impression that he is, I now forgive, thb heir-at-law of the blasphemous thief vi ho ;died upon the ' cross." To most men such a torrent of invective would prove the death-warrant of hope, ambition^ and future effort : but as you truly said, Disraeli was made of sterner ttuff, and afterwards, jokingly alluded' to tbe episode as the time' at which he and O'ConneU had met at "Phillipi." It is asMrted— since another" jewel has been added to the British Crown by the cession of Cyprus—that m his novel of " Tancred," written nearly fifty years ago, the policy'advocated m the Berlin Congress and its results were foreshadowed ; just . as m his first work—" Vivian Grey"— published when he was barely twenty-one years of age, and now fifty-two years ago, the ''political/ social, and literary celebrities of, the day were satirised with- great vigor. I find, however, that to! deal with a career which has been indis- . folubly bound up with the most stirring events of the last hast" half century would demand more space than I should ask or you give m this issue, and shall reserve furthur remarks for another occasion. -